Guest view: MCC Poplar Hall - Agriculture Center for Innovation

MCC Building Agriculture Center

Agricultural land makes up the vast majority of the 11,500 square miles served by Morgan Community College, and represents a significant and growing portion of the regional economy.

MCC has a long history of serving farming families through the Agriculture and Business Management (ABM) program. So many people I meet across eastern Colorado remember a faculty member from MCC sitting with mom or dad at the dining room table teaching them how to track finances, calculate profits and losses, use updated technology, and improve the efficiency of their family farm.

Today, MCC continues that great ABM legacy as well as helping lead the way into even greater use of technology with our Precision Agriculture Program. Students are learning the interface between farm equipment, technology, mapping, and satellite technology, and how to increase farm efficiency through these tools and data.

One thing is certain about MCC's future - we plan to grow agriculture programs to meet the workforce and economic needs of the region. We are also planning to grow facilities dedicated to meet our growing agriculture related programs.

On Friday, February 22 at the MCC Foundation 20th Annual Gala, we unveiled plans for Poplar Hall - Agriculture Center for Innovation. MCC received approval from the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education on February 13, 2019 to spend reserve funds to help build the $1.9 million facility. Construction will begin Summer 2019 with an expected completion in December 2019. Poplar Hall will provide dedicated space to serve the needs of our existing agriculture programs, as well as provide space for the college to continue to develop other programs to meet emerging needs.

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Poplar Hall is part of a greater campus master plan to modernize and update teaching and learning spaces across the Fort Morgan campus over the next 10-20 years. With the assistance of the MCC Foundation, a capital campaign will be launched to help fund the new agriculture center as well as other building projects on the horizon. The campaign will include naming opportunities for Poplar Hall and future projects.

For additional information on how to support MCC's campus development, contact Kari Linker, MCC's Director of Development and Foundation Director at kari.linker@morgancc.edu or (970) 542-3113.

Dr. Curt Freed is president at Morgan Community College in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Dr. Freed can be reached at curt.freed@morgancc.edu.

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